Film Review
André Berthomieu is not a filmmaker who is widely known today but,
with around seventy full-length films to his name, he was one of the most
prolific French film directors of his day. Alternating melodramas and
light comedies, Berthomieu had the knack of making films audiences wanted
to see and
Gringalet is typical of his output - a sentimental comedy-drama
whose main interest is that it touches on a problem that would become increasingly
prevalent in the years following WWII, namely the gulf between the generations.
Gringalet originated as a stage play by Paul Vandenberghe, who not
only adapted the play for the film but also plays the eponymous central character
in it. Vandenberghe had already adapted one of his plays for cinema
with Berthomieu -
J'ai dix-sept ans (1945) - and he would also script
several of the director's subsequent films, most notably his early collaborations
with Bourvil -
Pas si bête
(1946),
Blanc comme neige (1948),
Le coeur sur la main
(1949).
With his quiet charm and sweet, self-effacing persona, Paul Vandenberghe
looks remarkably like the young Bourvil and is perfectly suited for the role
of the nobler son, effectively contrasted with Jimmy Gaillard's pretty contemptible
spoiled brat of a half-brother. The casting of Charles Vanel as the
father of this chalk-and-cheese pair of siblings is hardly a surprise - Vanel
was invariably cast as the thick-skinned industrialist and patriarch in pretty
well every French film of this period - his character is effectively a well-blended
potpourri of the ones he had already portrayed in Curtis Bernhardt's
Carrefour (1938), Jean Dréville's
Les Affaires sont
les affaires (1942) and
Les
Roquevillard (1943). Vanel's penchant for playing sympathetic
double-sided characters with thick exteriors and fragile interiors was pretty
well unrivalled.
The once legendary star of French operetta, Marguerite Deval, now in her
late seventies and looking remarkably spry for her age, almost manages to
steal the film as Vanel's antagonistic mother-in-law, leaving Suzy Carrier
and Christiane Sertilange to bring the requisite feminine touch as the two
eye-catching female supports. The script is a pretty humdrum and predictable
affair to say the least, perhaps a tad mawkish for modern tastes, but you
would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by Vanel and Vandenberghe,
both of whom bring a welter of authenticity to their suitably underplayed
performances.
Gringalet hardly rates as a classic but it is
one of André Berthomieu's few films that still packs an emotional
punch and deserves to be preserved for posterity.
© James Travers 2016
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Film Synopsis
Lucien Bavaud is a highly successful industrialist who runs his factories
with ruthless efficiency. After his wife's death, Lucien lives alone
in his grand house with his son and mother-in-law, neither of whom he gets
on with. He would like to have seen the same honest virtues in his
son Philippe that he expects from his employees, but his ungrateful offspring
is a constant disappointment. The archetypal spoiled son, Philippe
detests his father and shows no interest in work, preferring instead to spend
his days living the life of the rich playboy. Unbeknown to any other
member of his family, Lucien also has an illegitimate son, Francis, nicknamed
Gringalet, who, having had to make his own way in the world, has turned out
to be a promising young artist and the ideal son. Francis graciously
accepts an invitation from his father to spend a few days at his house so
that he can get to know his half-brother, but instead of a warm welcome the
young artist is treated with abject disdain. The only person in Lucien's
household who warms to Francis is Philippe's fiancée Josette.
It is she who coerces Philippe into persuading his step-brother to stay after
he has made up his mind he is not welcome. Once he has realised that
Francis has no interest in his father's wealth, Philippe begins to take a
liking to his half-brother and not only does he start to show his father
more respect, he even begins working in earnest for Lucien. Through
Francis's influence, the Bavaud household is transformed for the better,
but amidst this newfound bonhomie Lucien sees that something is wrong.
It appears that Francis has fallen hopelessly in love with Josette...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.